Multiple parking elevator



Nov. 29, 1960 H. A. SINDERHAUF MULTIPLE PARKING ELEVATOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 4, 1959 IN V EN TOR. HENR Y A. J'wazn HA UF ATTORNEY Nov. 29, 1960 H. A. SINDERHAUF MULTIPLE PARKING ELEVATOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 4, 1959 INVENTOR. AZENRYA. fax 0. mm UF BY ATTORNEY Nov. 29, 1960 Filed March 4, 1959 H. A. SINDERHAUF 2,962,171

MULTIPLE PARKING ELEVATOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 HEN/i Y A. JYNDERHA up ATTORNEY 38 IN V EN TOR.

United States Patent MULTIPLE PARKING ELEVATOR Henry A. Sinderhauf, 3451 Stoner Ave., Los Angeles, Calif.

Filed Mar. 4, 1959, Ser. No. 797,253 7 Claims. (Cl. 214-16.1)

This invention relates to a device for raising and lowering automobiles and the like to and from different floors of a building wherein they may be parked. More particularly, it provides continuous conveyor means for simultaneously raising and lowering automobiles disposed at different levels of the conveyor, whereby, in a shaftway only large enough for one car, several cars can be conveyed to different floors at the same timeby being vertically stacked--and in addition, cars being raised in one column of the shaftway can be more-or-less balanced by cars being simultaneously lowered in an adjacent, parallel column of the shaftway, both up and down travel being effected by the same endless conveyor.

Accordingly it is an object of the invention to provide new and improved devices of the general character described, as embodied in my cantilevered, auto supporting platform conveyed in a continuous path vertically up, down and through intermediate rotations of 180 at the top and bottom of the path respectively, which platform is alignable with successive floors of a building where cars may be driven on to and off of whichever supporting face of the platform is uppermost. In other words, either flat horizontal face of the platform can support a car, depending upon which face is upturned, the connection of the platform to the endless conveyor remaining fixed.

Another purpose resides in the provision of a pair of endless belts or chains, spaced on opposite sides of said conveyor and each separated therefrom by the width of a car-carrying platform, which belts individually support the adjacent outer ends of the respective platforms in their up or down travel, said chains moving synchronously with said conveyor and platforms.

Yet another feature comprises particularly adapted platform-engaging means carried by said endless belts and automatically aligning and withdrawing from such platform engagement at the top and bottom of their paths of travel, in a continuous and automatic manner.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and claims, the novelty consisting in the features of construction, combination of parts, the unique relations of the members and the respective proportioning, disposition, and operation thereof, all as more completely outlined herein and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, which form part of the present invention:

Fig. l is a vertical sectional view taken through a building in which my automobile lifting device is installed; and

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view through the building, particularly showing the parking floor plan in relation to my lifting device located at one end thereof.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail view of the drive chain and cantilever bracing bracket construction;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the same, partially broken away and in section;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view thereof taken on th line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail from elevational view of the free side portion of a platform and of an adjoining portion of an auxiliary support device; and

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the same broken away and shown in section.

As seen particularly in Fig. 1, my automobile elevating device is shown located in a building having side walls 10, 12, top 14 and bottom 16, and intermediate floors 18 conventionally spaced apart vetrically, both above and below the exterior ground level 20. It should be noted that my conveyor mechanism is not limited to employment in any particular type building or enclosure, or to the presence of continuous side walls, or to its disposition either above or below ground. While it might not be practical to excavate for a parking garage to the depth suggested by the drawing, such a building could be constructed along side' of a hill so as to utilize an intermediate entrance level, or in the alternative, an older office building 01' other structure could be converted to the present use by means of my conveyor mechanism.

Essentially my construction is based on three vertically operating, synchfonized endless belts or chains 22, 24, 26 laterally spaced apart so as mutually to support between them, respectively, an ascending series 28 and descending series 30 of automobile-supporting pallets or platforms 32 movable in a continuous path in corresponding Up 34 and Down 36 columns of a shaftway (Fig. 2) formedthrough the successive floors 18 of the building and open above and below the corresponding vertical extremities of the central drive belt 24, so that each uptraveling platform 32 can be moved through an arc of 'so as to reverse its top and bottom surfaces and thus dispose it in the Down column with the corresponding reversal of-v down-moving platforms taking place simultaneously'at the'lower extremity of the drive belt 24 in a continuous manner.

The continuous drive means 24 comprises a pair of drive chains 5. In order to distinguish between them, the two lateral drives 22, 26 will be referred to as endless auxiliary supports. Although it is important that the movement of the auxiliary supports 22, 26 be synchronized with that of the drive chains 24 (as Well as with each other) and therefore they are all driven from the same motor or power source 38, it will be apparent that they can be driven by separate motors suitably synchronized. Conveniently a chain drive 40 conveys power from a sprocket driving head 42 of the motor .to a horizontally disposed shaft 44 thereabove, the shaft 44 being journalled in downwardly extending brackets 45 suspended beneath the first floor of the building and the motor 38 being mounted on a suitable base on the basement floor 16.

Drive is transmitted to the platforms 32 by the drive chains 24 travelling over respective sprockets 47, 48 secured to the lower shaft 44' and to an upper shaft 46 which is supported between stanchions 56 placed on the top floor at the top of the shaftway, between the Up column 34 and the Down column 36.

Each car-supporting platform 32 is formed of a pair of transverse parallel arms 58 secured together in spaced relation by longitudinal stringers 59 (Fig. 4). The rectangular frame thus formed is boxed in and braced by floor plates 60 each providing a surface on which an automobile can travel and rest. At its inner end, each platform 32 is carried by cantilever support provided by a pair of T-brackets 68 and by a pair of the sturdy con-' veyor chains 24 to which the inner longitudinal stringer 59 is secured by means of brackets 67 (Fig. 4). Each bracket 67 may be attached to its respective chain 24 Palented Nov. 29, 1960' by a bolt, rivet or pivot 69 anchored in a link of the chain 24. Attached as by welding to ends of arms 58 (which project beyond stringer 59) are the respective arms 70 of the T-brackets 68. T-bracekts 68.ar,e braced against and movable along guide rails 82 of channel section so as to support the platforms 32 projecting normally outwardly therefrom in a cantilever manner. The bracket arms 70 each have a pair of rollers 72 journalled on the respective ends of transverse shaft 74 mounted in its outer end. The rollers 72 travel against the bottom web 76 of a respective rail 82, and are retained between the respective side flanges 78 thereof. Each floor plate 60 has a corner cut-out space 80 to receive a respective drive chain 24 and sprockets 46, 48.

Along the outer edge of each platform 32, the space between the upper and lower floor plates 60 provides an outwardly opening socket 86 regardless of which face of the plate is up. The endless supporting chains 22, 26 are entrained over corresponding pairs of sprockets 88, 90 disposed above the top floor and sprockets 92, 94 disposed below the bottom floor. Drive is transmitted to the latter by sprocket drives 100, 102 from the shaft 44. Each endless support 22, 26 carries a series of outwardly projecting fingers 104 each positioned for insertion into an adjacent platform socket 86 so as to support the platform along its outer side 84 as it moves upor down the shaftway. At the bottom of each platforms vertical travel, a supporting finger is withdrawn before the platform is rotated 180, after which anotherfinger is inserted in its socket from the other side as it begins its ascent. The same procedure takes place with each platform at the top of the shaft, by reason of synchronous travel of the lateral auxiliary supports 22, 26 with that of the central, endless drive chains 24. Thus each car-carrying platform 32 is supported at both sides during all the time that it might be conveying a car in either direction. Usually all platforms would be stopped momentarily at each floor in order to permit driving a car on or off at each floor level. The person driving a car off at any floor would immediately park it in one of the stalls 106 marked off or otherwise delineated on the parking area of the floor (Fig. 2), and the floor plan thus provides a driving path 108 returning to the Down column of the shaftway, with onerar stalls provided on each side thereof, conveniently at an angle.

While I have herein shown and described my invention in what I have presently conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of my invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein, but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices.

I claim:

1. In a multiple parking elevator, in combination: a building including a plurality of vertically spaced horizontal floors having respective vertically registering openings cooperatively defining a pair of laterally spaced vertical elevator shafts therein; vertically elongated endless conveyor means operable vertically along said shafts; drive means including conveyor-operating elements rotatable on horizontal axes disposed adjacent the upper and lower extremities of said shafts in a common vertical median plane between said shafts; a plurality of vehicle supporting platforms carried by said conveyor means with vertical spacing corresponding to the vertical spacing of said floors, each of said platforms adapted to support a vehicle with the longitudinal axis thereof parallel to said median plane, for inter-floor elevating andlowering movements in the respective shafts; said conveyor means comprising a plurality of endless flexible conveyor elements spaced apart along said horizontal .axes and disposed near the respective forward and rear endsof said platforms, a plurality of T-brackets secured to a respective inward side of each platform adjacent a respective endless conveyor and attached to the latter for transmitting movement from the conveyor means to the platforms, said T-brackets each" comprising a pair of arms projecting respectively in opposite directions from the plane of the respective platform and having bearing rollers at their respective ends; a plurality of guide rails fixed to and extending vertically between said floors along the inner sides of said elevator shafts in inwardly spaced parallel relation to said conveyor elements, said rollers travelling against said rails for guiding said platforms and providing cantilever support therefor; a plurality of vertically elongated endless-conveyor type auxiliary supports disposed along the outward sides of said shafts and each having a plurality of supporting projections, spaced to correspond to the spacing of the platforms and arranged to establish supporting engagement with the outward side of a respective platform during vertical travel; and drive means for synchronously driving said endless conveyor means and said auxiliary supports for conjoint support and vertical transport of said platforms in vertical stretches of travel in said elevator shafts.

2. A multiple parking elevator as defined inclaim 1, wherein said endless conveyor elements have, at their respective upper and lower extremities, return portions trained around said conveyor-operating elements and carrying said platforms in arcuately-swinging return portions of their paths of movement at the respective upper and lower extremities thereof; wherein said auxiliary supports have respective return portions defining respective upper and lower extremities thereof disposed at the points where the outward sides of said platforms commence and terminate said arcuately-swinging return portions of their paths, and are adapted to disengage said supporting pro jections from the platforms at said points; and wherein said guide rails have respective semi-circular return portions at their upper and lower extremities, cooperable with said rollers and T-brackets to provide cantilever support to said platforms in said arcuately-swinging return portions of their paths, with the outer sides thereof free.

3. A multiple parking elevator as defined in claim 2, wherein said supporting projections are in the form of fingers projecting at right angles to said endless supports; and wherein said platforms are provided, in their said outward sides, with sockets disposed to receive said fingers so as to receive auxiliary support therefrom both in the elevating and in the lowering portions of the paths of travel of said platforms.

4. A multiple parking'elevator as defined in claim 1, wherein said supporting projections are in the form of fingers projecting at right angles to said endless supports; and wherein said platforms are provided, in their said outward sides, with sockets disposed to receive said fingers so as to receive auxiliary support therefrom both in the elevating and in the lowering portions of the paths of travel of said platforms.

5. A-multiple parking elevator as defined in claim 1, wherein said guide rails are of channel-section, each ineluding a central web portion against which said rollers have rolling engagement, and a pair of side flanges in embracing relation to said rollers for endwise positioning of said platforms.

6. A multiple parking elevator as defined in claim 1, wherein said building includes a forward side, wherein said elevator shafts are disposed adjacent said forward side of the building, and wherein each of said floors is provided with indicatingmeans designating a U-shaped traffic path proceeding forwardly from the shaft of the upwardly moving platforms, having a return portion adjacent the rear of the building, and returning to the shaft of the downwardly moving platforms, said indicating means further designating rows of parking stalls along both said forwardly proceeding and returning portions of the traffic paths.

7. A multiple parking elevator as defined in claiml,

wherein said building extends above and below ground References Cited in the file of this patent level to approximately equal extents, wherein said elevator shafts are located alongside a forward vertical wall UNITED STATES PATENTS of the building, and wherein one of said floors is disposed 140,076 Rightor June 17, 1873 at ground level and provides for entrance and exit of 5 975,721 Russell Nov. 15, 1910 vehicles to and from the respective elevator shafts. 1,781,806 Da Costa, Nov. 18, 1930 

